Resident Evil: Old Wounds
by xSpooky731x
Summary: Chris Redfield and partner, Jill Valentine, find themselves in pursuit of a bio-terrorist in possession of information on the infamous T-Virus. This case however, has deep ties to the past of Jill Valentine, and her actions while under control of a former enemy. What did Jill do, and how is it tied into the T-Virus and a new organization working in the shadow of Umbrella?
1. Era Extraña

The music was thundering, the lyrics were nearly impossible to decipher, every beat caused a pounding in the chest and a ring in the ear. The environment was not anything new, he'd been in a place just like it dozens of times in the past; only this time he was in the place to work, not for pleasure. Although, he was taking it as both; how often does a job assignment require attending a club with... exotic dancers? The lights were dim, flashes of light beamed from the main stage, a beautiful series of red and green lights danced on the club's black carpeted floor. Dancing from the floor, the lights bounced off of the junkies at individual tables or standing dumbfounded, to the average Joe either sitting alone or with a group of buddies, all the way to 'higher men' sitting in booths. Either men with a lot of money, to frustrated husbands, or even gangsters, the mob. More importantly however, Bio-Terrorists. They looked like regulars at a strip club, regulars with money, but these men carried themselves differently from the average law breaker. Their security had security, and they were not as loose and easy going as some of the other obvious mavericks in the club.

It was a dangerous position to be in: stuck right in the middle of mobsters, low level street thugs, and the new terrorists of the 21st century. He could care less however, he sat at the bar unruffled. This was the lifestyle he'd signed up with since he entered the United States Air Force well over a decade prior. He'd gone through dozens of situations before, some better than the current predicament, and others worse. Yet, Chris Redfield seemed to find himself doing just fine in such situations, this time would be no different. After all he was not alone in this operation; Chris volunteered for this particular case which had him assigned to a group looking to apprehend the small group of confirmed Bio-Terrorists. There were twelve others working with Chris on this case, not to mention he and his team would be getting assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department, a tactical unit which should have arrived approximately seven minutes prior. Chris was standing at the bar area, taking in a drink and facing the wall of liquor and a large mirror. At this angle he could see the entire club and his targets without having to constantly look over his shoulder. The music began to die down as the dancer on stage gave a charming bow of gratitude to the clapping group of men in the building. She walked off the stage briskly and the music level stayed at a low.

"Do you mind?" asked a woman, Chris' eyes turned away from the mirror and met with hazel eyes looking back at him. A blond haired woman in her mid twenties gave Chris a warm smile and gestured if she could stand beside him to order a drink. Chris gave her a nod and smiled back, taking a sip of his beer. She stepped inward and motioned for the bartender, Chris gave a quick look at her body...just to size her up. The blond wore tight black jeans, black Chelsea boots with a small heel, she wore a black jacket over a maroon vest. Her hair reached down just passed her collar bone, nothing fancy done, just straight hair which wasn't exactly too bright of blond.

"Heineken please," said the woman,

"Interesting," started Chris,

"What's that?"

"I don't see too many women order that."

"It's bold and complex, I like it."

"You sure though, it's about eight bucks here."

"I don't mind the price, it's worth it for the quality. I'm sure you can agree, with your..." she looked at the beer in his hand, it was a simple tall glass, she studied it for a second, then her eyes met his, "Stella." Chris nodded, obviously impressed. The barman came over with the Heineken in hand, set it down on the counter top and opened it, with his hands he held up eight fingers. She motioned to pay, Chris waved her off and asked to to put it on his tab, "I'll pay the lady's drink."

"Thanks, but the lady can pay her own."

"Listen, I'm not exactly trying to pick up on you here. I can show some respect for a woman who enjoys a Heineken . You've got good taste."

"I should think so, I did sit beside you after all." she gave him another smile, another smile which was almost infectious. She turned to the barman and gave him a nod.

"Thanks for the drink, it's not often you go to a strip club and have the famous Chris Redfield buy you a round." she took a sip of the Heineken as Chris turned his head to her slowly, puzzled at first, then he nodded his head, "I see, _you're _Alex Trevor, the detective with the LAPD am I right?"

"Detective Alexandria Trevor, yes." Chris rose his glass as if to toast, then took a drink and glanced at his wrist watch, "You're nearly ten minutes late."

"I'm sorry, the LAPD can't have a team assembled in twelve minutes like you boys at the BSAA. Although, you used to be with a police task force, you know how it can be."

Both took a drink and then continued onward, all fronts out the window, it was now time for business. The Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, the organization Chris Redfield had found himself working with for almost ten years, was tipped off to the group of Bio-Terrorists which were at the club. Chris and his partner had been watching them for a few days, making sure they were who the anonymous individual said they were. "Who am I looking for?" asked Alex as she placed her back to the counter and leaned on it casually, Chris looked up to the mirror, his eyes went immediately to their target, "His name is Richard Esquivel, he's the small sack of shit sitting in front of the stage wearing the aviators. He's been wanted by Interpol for years now, and just recently he's been making some buys on the black market for information about the T-Virus—which has put him on our radar."

"T-Virus? That's the thing that caused the viral outbreak in Raccoon City back in '98 right?" she asked giving him a glance, Chris gave a nod, already thinking back to other cases which sprouted carriers of the virus, and what those carriers were capable of. He stifled the thoughts with another gulp of the beer and continued, "In January, Esquivel was rumored to be within the Eastern Slav Republic—though what he was actually doing there has not been confirmed. We can assume he wasn't taking a vacation in a nation undergoing a civil war. Earlier this month there've been rumors of 'monsters' in the war. The nation's government is not confirming or denying these claims, and they've denied assistance offered by the BSAA. If the rumors are true about the so-called monsters, then it's very likely that Esquivel may have sold Bio-Organic Weapons to the rebels in the Eastern Slav Republic, or purchased from them. This is why we are here: to apprehend Richard Esquivel and press him for information."

"I see. Well, I've got over a dozen men outside that have already sealed off this area, and I understand you have a unit here too, am I right?"

"My SOU is divided right now, I have six men at the rear of this building, and the other five in pursuit of The Seller."

"The Seller?"

"We were tipped off that this would strictly be a drop off. From what we were told, Esquivel bought something off the black market, something pertaining to the T-Virus. There was a man here a few moments ago in a black suit and red tie, he was only here for a moment. He left a metallic briefcase at the table Esquivel is at, then he walked away."

"Why didn't you guys take him down then?"

"Esquivel wasn't here yet, in fact they never actually met. We couldn't take the man without possibly causing a scene which would have spooked off Esquivel if he was coming. My Special Operations Unit is split, half covering the rear of the building, and the other following the man in the suit, seeing where he goes, and who he reports to. We're looking for the person pulling the strings behind the T-Virus information—which could be anyone from an ex-Umbrella employee, or someone looking to continue research on the virus. Last I read, it seems the man with the red tie is heading to the Union Station in downtown LA."

Alex Trevor gave a few nods and took another sip, so far it seemed everything was going according to plan, the only way a screw up could occur would be with them, the here and now. "I've got ten men already in this place, they walked in before me, and the last guy just walked in the door. We're ready when you are Agent Redfield." she said, setting her drink on the table. Chris looked down at the beer in his hand, "Almost, we're just waiting on the signal." with that, he lifted his glass, and gulped down every drop, Alex was curious, "What signal? Aside from that, you mentioned a partner. Not only that, I was told you would have the partner here with you? Where are they?"

"That's what I mean, I'm waiting for..." Chris trailed off as the music began to rise again, again the music was ear-splitting, and chest thrusting. Chris turned and joined in on the lean with Alex, "Detective, my partner. Enter stage left: Jill Valentine."

Just then as the lyrics began stepped out, vigorously, wearing a light blue mini skirt. The top was a light blue police officer uniform, complete with a badge, handcuffs, a nightstick, and a pistol. Jill Valentine was simply electrifying in her movements as she made her way to the center of the stage, she commanded the attention of every patron in the club as she ripped off her top and tossed it to a table of three men on her left. Alex's attention went to Chris, and she caught something in his eye which she did not keep to herself, "Is there a look of concern there Agent Redfield?" she asked, reaching back and pulling her beer in front of her, Chris looked onward at Jill for a moment, then seemed to snap back into reality, stern, "Agent Valentine was just recently cleared for active duty following our last mission together in Africa. In my opinion, she's still not ready for duty."

"Is that it? Or do you like approve of her exposing herself like this?"  
"She's exposing herself to dangerous men, the terrorists in front of her are cruel bastards, sadists who've tortured people—innocent men, women, and children. So yeah, I'm not exactly thrilled about this part of the assignment."

"Hmph, that's what you're brain says anyway." Alex took another drink of her beer, finished it, and set it down behind herself. Jill Valentine was now moving closer to Esquivel, her hands moved across her own body with ease and elegance, movements like this stunned Esquivel, who rose from his seat and moved closer to the stage, his men following. Jill motioned for the pistol in the holster, Esquivel's men stepped forward, but an exuberant Esquivel waved them off as he moved closer to Jill. Chris reached over into a holster he had hiding beneath his jacket and removed his 9mm, Alex did the same, and with a few brief nods to several of her men already in the crowd, they did the same. They were ready, Jill grasped her weapon as she leaned inward to her target, Esquivel leaned inward as well. This was it, the moment had come when they had to hope everything went according to plan.

Of course, that would have been too easy. Just before Jill Valentine could remove her weapon there was an explosion of gas which had come from the ceiling, the music continued to play as the men in the audience began to panic. A blinding smoke filled the room quickly, the beams of light were only able to cut through bits of the smoke. In the excitement, Chris and the team moved inward, not sure who was who and what was happening. A fight broke out somewhere on the left of the stage, then on the right, soon the entire club found themselves in a brawl. Chris put his weapon away and joined the fray, looking for Esquivel or one of his men. It was better it became a physical fight rather than one involving guns. Chris jumped over a table and tackled down one of the guards he had seen Esquivel with. Both men on the floor, another guard quickly emerged from the smoke and slammed his foot down, nearly missing Chris' face. The guard rose his leg again and slammed downward, Chris caught his boot, and using all his might, pushed the guard backward into another brawl between an undercover officer and some junkie. Yet before Chris could relish the small victory, the man he had tackled had found himself on his feet, reached down and pulled Chris up, landing a few hard hitting jabs into Chris' left ribs.

Even through the pain, Chris was wondering what had happened to Esquivel, and more importantly, what had happened to Jill Valentine. It was possible Jill was able to get back stage when the smoke had come about, or maybe Esquivel had grabbed her in the confusion, either scared or realizing she was after him. Worse, perhaps Jill had been injured. Before another thought could cross Chris' mind, he found himself choked and had his head slammed down onto a table. The club was filling with smoke, the music was still playing as men could be heard cursing at one another, screaming in pain, or screaming out in frustration. The guard with his hands around Chris' throat smiled wide, just before a glass shattered against his head, knocking him to the floor. Chris found himself gasping for air within the smoke, which was starting to hurt his lungs. Alex Trevor knelt beside him, "Agent Redfield, Jill and the target have vanished!"

Unknown to both Chris and Alex, Jill Valentine was in pursuit of her target and getting closer to him as he gasped for air. They were running through the back alley, an area which should have been secured by the BSAA, yet the agents were nowhere in sight. It made no difference at the moment, even in heels, Jill Valentine was catching up with her target, she'd have him down on the floor begging for her not to hurt him in no time at all. Esquivel shot a look back at her, then threw himself around a corner. Behind herself, Jill could hear the voice of Chris Redfield calling to her, it seemed he realized the back exit was open wide and was the only means of escape from that smoke trap. Jill didn't stop, there was no time, Esquivel was just around the corner. Jill allowed herself to slow for a fraction of a second as she made the turn, then she stopped in her tracks, stopped suddenly, so suddenly her body almost fell forward from the momentum. Standing there in front of her, a figure in a long hooded cloak, beneath the cloak were bright and large red eyes, a large formation, like a beak, stuck out from just under the red eyes. Jill Valentine was face-to-face with herself. Impossible, she was face-to-face with someone who had donned the cloak and mask she had once worn. It only took a second to register the image before Jill found herself kicked in the stomach and thrown back out into the main alleyway. Chris' voice was loud as he shouted her name, possibly only seeing her fly backward from the turn. Jill had slammed into a garbage dumpster which bent inward as she hit it. Her assailant fled deeper into the alleyway, Chris slid and made it beside her, he hastily questioned her on if she was alright, "No! Don't stop—I'm fine! Stop him!" she shouted, tossing his arm off of her.

Chris gave her only a second glance, then continued down the alleyway after Esquivel, not sure what the Hell had happened to his partner. Alex Trevor had made it out to the alleyway and began to make her way to Jill as Chris had run off in the direction of Jill's attacker.

Around a corner, Chris saw Esquivel hopping into the back of a windowless white van, he pulled out his 9mm and took aim. Just a split second before he could fire his weapon he found his hands kicked from around the corner. His weapon fired and a man's scream was heard just as the doors slammed shut and the van began to peel out. Chris moved to take aim at his attacker but only saw a leg and boot come his way, he motioned to block and found his weapon kicked clean from his hand. Before a reaction could be made, with the other leg, the attacker kicked Chris hard in the upper chest, sending him backward onto the wet and hard pavement. It was all happening so fast, before Chris knew it, he saw his attacker in the air, coming down at him with their boots aimed at his head. He tossed himself to the side and rolled up to his feet, desperately trying to gain balance in the excitement.

The person, or thing attacking him was fast, faster than his eyes could keep up with. It darted back and forth and then suddenly came at Chris, full speed. It was only in this split second Chris saw his attacker, his attacker dressed exactly as Jill had been a while back while under control of an enemy. Before Chris could react, the assailant jumped just barely over his head in a movement which could be seen as beautiful, if it wasn't done to inflict damage. The assailant's hands latched onto Chris' neck in mid-air, and just before they landed, they used their own momentum of the jump to hurl Chris over their own head, clean across several feet. Chris landed hard onto the pavement, his only type of cushion was a puddle of water he had landed in. Just then Jill Valentine had made it to the scene of the attack and noticed her double, seemingly standing alone there in the open alley. Jill rose her weapon and fired several shots. Not a single bullet hit the attacker, the double had moved too fast, dodged every bullet with beautiful precision. Jill fired several more, each was dodged, and just as she fired the last round, she realized the double had been standing in front of Chris, purposely moving and dodging so that Jill would score an actual bullet. As her double dodged, Chris had gotten to his knees and for a split second saw the assailant jump above him. The bullet connected not with the attacker, but with Chris Redfield. Jill screamed out in horror as she had only seen blood shoot out from Chris' left temple. He collapsed on the floor, face first. Jill ran toward him, throwing her weapon aside. The assailant lunged over Chris' collapsed body, and used a type of flying kick which knocked Jill Valentine backward. As Jill landed hard on her back, the double landed perfectly on her feet before then leaping atop a dumpster, an air conditioner, and then onto a rooftop. Jill's eyes, watery with pain and emotional trauma, watched as the assailant gave only one glance before leaping elsewhere. Though, the assailant didn't matter, the case didn't matter. Jill dragged herself over to her partner, lying in a small puddle of his own blood. She positioned herself to sit, she placed Chris' head on her lap, blood was running down her leg as she held onto him close, crying. It was her fault, what had she done? The target got away, the assailant got away, and she had just shot her own partner. Nothing else mattered.


	2. Every Living Thing Dies Alone

Jill Valentine sat at the back of the open ambulance as a medic patched up a scrape on her back which extended from her right shoulder blade down to top of her right buttock; she sat there motionless with her right arm raised, eyes staring into the small puddle of Chris' blood which had been left there since another ambulance took him away. The streets were buzzing with the sounds of the infamous Los Angeles traffic in the short distance, a few sirens going off here and there from squad cars either arriving or leaving the scene. Over a dozen arrests were made, a few people who had gotten in the fight inside the bar, three known gang members, and several members of a low level mafia. No one with the LAPD sustained any serious injuries, that was the only bit of information Jill Valentine had been given since she was woken up, lying in the back of the ambulance. As the medic lowered Jill's arm, a young woman stepped into view from the side of the vehicle; a dark blue coat in her left hand, and a cup of coffee in the other. She gave a slight smirk and then sat down beside Jill as the medic stepped out of the vehicle and went back over to the alley. The woman offered the coat first, and Jill thanked her, carefully putting on the coat over her bruises and wounds.

"I have to say: the fact you chased your man down wearing nothing more than a bra, mini skirt, and heels is quite impressive Agent Valentine." Jill gave no reply, she adjusted the coat and took the coffee that was handed to her, "You're also an amazing shot. Your bullet only grazed Agent Redfield's left temple. A few centimeters to the right and he would have been killed." there was still no reply from Jill, who took a sip of the coffee and continued staring into the blood puddle. The young woman, Alex Trevor, merely glanced at the puddle and continued, "We're getting in contact with the owner of the building here," Alex pointed to an electronics building beside them, "hopefully that camera facing here is working, and can provide us with something to track down Esquivel and the assailant."

Both women sat there in silence, neither of them saying a word, and yet neither of them enjoyed awkward silence. Jill took one last sip of her coffee and cleared her throat; Chris was alive and that was great news atop the steaming pile which was the operation she and Chris were part of, yet she had been told nothing yet of the SOU she was assigned to, "The men? Gamma Team, where are they?" she asked, still looking at the puddle. Alex let out a sigh as she looked up at the night sky above, "We've been trying to contact the detachment which went after the man in the red tie Chris spoke of, but we've had no luck. According to Agent Redfield, your men had been tailing him as he was heading—seemingly—to Union Station. We've sent a few officers over, but nothing so far, not even the vehicle your men had." Alex's eyes moved downward and met the puddle of blood, "As for the other detachment, the small group you had behind the club... they're dead."

The news broke Jill from her daze, "What happened?" she asked, gently shifting her body to the woman beside her. Alex sat up and turned to Jill, "If you like, I'd rather show you. The squad leader of the S.T.A.R.S. that found your men, what he saw in there made him throw up on sight. It's difficult to explain, so if you have the stomach for it, as I said: I'd rather show you." Jill agreed and stepped off the ambulance slowly, careful.

A sharp pain filled her right leg, both legs were throbbing, sore from the run. Her stomach was aching and bruised from from her attack, and her back was scrapped and cut. She was a mess, but her condition was of no concern as long as she could still move on her own. Both woman walked back toward the alley, passing officers and several crime scene investigators going over the area. They walked side by side, Alex did not mind walking a little slower so Jill Valentine could keep up with her, "So you and Agent Redfield have been partners for over a decade now, must be nice knowing you've got someone there whom you can rely on." said Alexandria, trying to make conversation, a conversation Jill was not engaging in. Still, Alexandria pressed on, "I know you and Agent Redfield were in S.T.A.R.S. together back in Raccoon City. Our own unit was put together in early '96, my dad was one of the first members of that group. Me though, I'm more into the investigation of a case—hence detective. My brother however, Michael, he's just like my dad. Captain of his own SWAT team in Culver City..." Alex trailed off, she could see that Jill Valentine would not interested in her family story, or the mention of S.T.A.R.S., a topic she was quite possibly tired of after all these years, and the very mention of such a thing could have stirred up bad memories. Opened old wounds.

As the women passed a dumpster, dented from Jill's earlier encounter, Alex tried her hand again at something simple, the case, "I'm sorry, I'm Detective Alexandria Trevor, I'm the lead detective assigned to this case." Jill Valentine took a sip of her drink and adjusted her coat again, this time, she spoke, "Were you told about what you'd be dealing with when you were assigned this case Detective Trevor? Did your superiors tell you that you were coming on a bug hunt?"

"Uh, no actually. See I overheard my CO mention the BSAA, and I heard a name drop in there... your name Agent Valentine." Jill stopped in her tracks, eyes now turning to Alex, who continued to speak as she too stopped to meet eyes with the agent of the BSAA, "I've read all about you Agent Valentine, and I have to say it really is an honor to be working with you. When I heard your name I practically begged my CO to give me this case. It took a lot of convincing, but he handed it to me... admittedly I should have prepared myself for the situation. But I was excited to meet you, to have the chance to work with you and Agent Redfield." Jill continued to walk, and Alex did the same, exuberance was growing in her voice.

"I read about your ordeal in July of '98, the Mansion Incident in the Arklay Mountains. The Outbreak Incident in Raccoon City later that year, the adventures throughout Europe—taking down Umbrella every chance you got. I even read about your report about Costa Rica. The founding of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, looking into that facility in the Siberian Forest..." Alex could have spoken longer if Jill had not chuckled, "It really sounds like something else when you put it all that way. I can't say I've met anyone really as enthusiastic as you are about me. It's very flattering, thank you." Alex gave a smile, and by this point both women had reached the van which a part of the Gamma team had been waiting in. From the angle, Jill could see nothing but a few crime scene investigators getting pictures and looking for evidence. The doors at the back of the van were open, and men crowded around, all of them sounded disgusted as they spoke about the sight. Jill stepped in closer and the men there stepped aside to reveal the grisly sight of the six men in the back of the van. All of them were bunched together, all of them seemed to have their skin literally melting off of their bones, it appeared the entire skin had been liquified. The looks in their eyes, Jill could not possibly imagine the final thoughts that ran through their heads. Alex never looked in the direction of the van, "Have you seen this?" asked Jill, Alex shook her head, "No, but I've been told as much... it doesn't get to you?" she asked, Jill turned away from the van, and at the moment another vehicle pulled up to gather the bodies. Jill moved further from the van with Alex close behind, "I don't mean to sound callous, but I've seen things that have almost completely desensitized me to such sights... things no one should bare witness to."

Several minutes had passed since Jill Valentine had re-entered the backstage area of the strip club and gotten back into her own clothes, she had seven missed calls: six of them were from the local BSAA field office near downtown LA, the last call was from her mother. Jill ignored the call from her mother, there would be time for that later, instead the dialed back the filed office and then hit the extension number to reach her own superior on the case. The phone rang only twice before it was answered, and her superior sounded pissed, "What the Hell happened down there? I thought you had everything handled? I've gotten word that we've lost contact with a group of Gamma team, that you let the target get away, you shot and nearly killed your own partner, and six of our own men are dead! Men with wives Agent Valentine—men with families! How could you and Chris be so damn careless with this case!? We need Esquivel, now! Tensions in the Eastern Slav Republic have never been so high before, and the President is not taking the rumors of 'monsters' on the battlefield there lightly. We need to know if Esquivel sold B.O.W.s to the rebels there, or knows anything about what the Hell is going on in that damn country!" Jill held back, she knew better than to interrupt, she waited for him to let off some steam before she spoke again, "Chris has been taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital in downtown LA and I'm heading over to see him now with the help of the detective in charge out here. A text message," said Jill as she took the phone from her ear and enabled a video conversation while she opened her message, "from the men of Gamma team report that they've been radio silent as they follow this man in the red tie. It was not too long ago that they had arrived at Union Station and had the man in their sights. If he's waiting for someone there, or catching a train somewhere, the SOU will know about it and take him down, they're lying low trying not to make it too obvious they're tailing him." Jill closed the text message and focused back on her superior, who was looking back at her now, his expression had not changed, "We are trying to piece this situation together as fast as we can right now, if we get the man in the red tie, and if we press him enough, we could get the location of Esquivel and possibly more information out of what's happening in the ESR."

Her superior let out a sigh, "Jill... I'm not sure letting you back into the field was such a good idea—not so soon since your last mission." Jill protested quickly, before he could get out another word, "If you're referring to the several events last year—I was an asset which brought in the capture of four terrorists. They needed my help!"

"Jill, I was referring to Kijuju." he said, Jill remained silent, she knew he was not trying to put her down, she could actually see and hear the concern in his voice.

"I know it's been long since you had an actual field assignment like this one and not just something you jumped onto at the last moment. Jill you have to remember that we follow rules and regulations given to us by the United Nations. You were always by the book, but ever since the Spencer Estate, you've come back..." he was looking for a word other than damaged, Jill was able to pick up on that almost instantly, he caught her eye in the screen and continued, "the point is that you may just not be quite ready yet."

"Look, I can't sit behind a desk forever, there's not much I can do from there. My physical and mental scars have healed since Chris and Sheva saved me in Kijuju. The drug that was forced into my body has practically been purged from my system. I'm fine."

"Jill, please, you have to understand."

"No, Barry, please. I have to do this. I need to do this."

Alexandria walked into the room at that moment, Jill gave her a glance then focused back on Barry Burton, "Listen, I'll update you on Chris' condition the moment I have something, and I'll have the SOU get in contact with you the moment they have something on this man in the red tie. Until then... please let me do my job here." Barry, bald and carrying a light gray beard, gave a nod and then ended the conversation. As the screen went black, Jill put her phone into her pocket, "Let's go see how Chris is doing shall we?"

Meanwhile, at Union Station, Captain Aparo remained a few yards away from the man in the red suit as he walked calmly through the central hall of the Union Station. Aparo and his man disbursed as they entered the station, they could not make it obvious they they were following him from near the Staple's Center. The man in the black suit and red tie walked down a longer hallway, leading to the Amtrack trains which would lead to the greater California region. The station area was still busy with people going about their business, all of them completely oblivious as to what was happening around them, all of them unaware that someone connected to Bio-Terror was walking among them. Aparo noticed the man go down a gate, gate number seven. He glanced back at the massive timetable with all the Amtrack departures and arrival, but there was nothing scheduled to arrive at gate seven until the next morning. Aparo turned back to the hall and moved down quickly as he noticed someone else in pursuit of the man with the red tie, though it was not one of his own men, it appeared to be someone who worked from the station, possibly going to tell the man the track was closed. Both men disappeared from view, and before Aparo could make it to the gate, he noticed several people walk by the gate and glance over in the direction, some even stopped to look at something unseen to him. One teenage boy looked, and then ran inward. Aparo made haste and went into a full sprint, he glanced over his shoulder and noticed two of his men following. He'd reach the gate before they would, he'd be alone for a moment, but he had to take the risk and not let the red tie get away. The onlookers suddenly began to scream, some ran and scattered, others continued to look on in horror at something which could not be seen.

It only took several seconds after that first scream that Aparo turned the corner, then found himself frozen with fear and complete shock. The worker who had followed the man in the red tie, was on top of the teenage boy, tearing into his throat with his teeth. A carrier, a T-Virus carrier in the Union Station. The screams had finally reached the ears of the carrier as it tore out the teenager's throat and looked up at Aparo and snarled. The man in the red tie was nowhere to be seen, one could only guess he had somehow infected the worker, yet the rate of the infection was fast, impossibly fast. Aparo fumbled for his weapon, and just as he turned his head away from the carrier, he grabbed his weapon and raised it, but found that the carrier was not alone, the teenage boy had jumped to his feet, brought back from the dead by the virus. Both carriers charged Aparo who fired several shots, knocking back the worker, but missing the teenager who had thrown himself at Aparo and was now on top of him. The strength and brutality of the blow was too much, Aparo fell over and his weapon slid from his hands, he was now battling, trying to keep the teenager's teeth from biting into his face.

How was it possible for the virus to spread so quickly, the teenager had just been attacked, even the wound in the throat was still bleeding out. More screams suddenly came about, in all directions, Aparo could hear gunfire, his men had engaged unseen enemies; carriers of the virus or terrorists. He took a quick second to take in his surroundings: people were running frantically back and forth, he noticed other people latching onto others, biting them, tearing into flesh. He noticed one of his men being overtaken by three carriers. His attention went back to the teenage boy, who he could barely keep off of himself. There was still screaming, and then Aparo felt something, a sharp pain in his ankle, the worker was now biting his ankle. Tried, he tried his best to kick the worker off, to no avail. He felt himself losing control of his limbs, everything was going numb, he was barely able to hold a single thought. He was alone, not only alone in the sense he was separated from his unit, but he lived his entire life alone. At this moment, he had wished he had spent his time with someone. Anyone. He allowed himself to let go of the teenager, and embraced the inevitable.


	3. Echoes

Both women exited the club through the back door, Detective Trevor's car was parked around the back, out of sight. Both women walked side by side, Jill's attention was up at the moon above, which was about the only thing visible in the night sky. "He seemed really pissed." said Alex and she pulled out her keys from her pocket, Jill smiled and shrugged, "He did didn't he? Barry Burton isn't always like that. He's a kind man, big heart, he's a teddy bear really. However with all that's going on, like the civil war in Edonia, and the possibility of B.O.W.s being used there, he has a lot on his plate right now...not to mention his wife is filling for divorce."  
Alex remained silent, she did not know Barry, yet felt bad about a falling relationship. Her own parents had once had a falling out, but have since mended. To her, marriage was sacred. Both women approached the Alex's car as two squad cars suddenly set off from the club, an ambulance followed, all sirens blaring. Jill moved to the passenger side, and as Alex unlocked the car, he glanced over to Jill, "Are you married Agent Valentine?" Both women entered the vehicle and buckled themselves in, Jill gave a chuckle to the question, "No I'm not-just to my job. The only commitment I made was to putting an end to Bio-terror."  
"Did you ever see yourself getting married?"  
Jill found herself dumbfounded by the question, that particular question was something she had not thought about for many years. In fact, thinking of it now brought in regret as well as memories of old.  
"I did. It was a long time ago, a different time when things made sense. I mean, this isn't exactly the kind of world I would want to get married in. Imagine having a child in a world where monsters do exist, where a breath of the wrong air could infect you with something deadly that will turn you into some kind of creature. It gets to a point when having a family just does not make any sense in a world so insane as the one we live in now."  
Three squad cars rushed by, sirens on. Both women shared of look of confusion before Alex's phone went off, she fumbled for a moment before pulling it from her coat pocket, "It's my CO." she answered as she turned on the ignition.  
"Yes sir... Yes... Yes she is." Alex turned to Jill, "Well I was on my way to take her to see her partner at...yes... Yes sir I understand, we'll be right there!" Suddenly Alex's voice was file with excitement, but not a good type, something was wrong, horribly wrong. Jill was able to hear it in Detective Trevor's voice, and see it in her face and body language.  
Alex backed up the car quickly, turned on the siren and hit the accelerator at such a speed it had pressed Jill against her seat, "My CO needs you at Union Station immediately. In fact the entire police department in the vicinity needs to be there, Los Angeles has a biohazard situation!"

The woman in the black dress and dagger heels sat at her black leather armchair comfortably, the remained there without a care in the world as she sipped on her champagne. The fireplace beside her was roaring, and the outside city was alive with the sound of police sirens, cars honking at each other, and the sound of approaching helicopters. She was at ease, and it was in this moment that she was truly happy. Soon enough she would be free from all of this.  
She had worked her way from the bottom up, it was this position that she had been looking for the entire time, ever since she started working with her former company back in France. She had come such a long way.  
There was knock on the door, she did not reply, the door opened and in stepped an elderly man in a tuxedo, "Call on line seven, ma'am." She waved him off, he gave a bow and exited the room, gently shutting the door behind himself. This was it, the call she had been waiting for, the call to confirm, the call that was going to make all of her problems go away. The woman in the black dress, dagger heels, and dark red lipstick, reached over to the stand beside her black leather armchair and picked up the phone, "Yes?" she answered, a coolness in her voice, she wore a smile to go with it. There was a man on the other end of the phone, who's relaxed tone matched her own, "We made the delivery. The BSAA made a cameo tonight, yet, they only proved to be a nuisance. You had me believing otherwise." he sounded disappointed, "Believe me, they're losing their edge. Is everything still on schedule then?" there was a brief pause, "Our contact was extracted, payment delivered. As we speak he is on his way to meet with you now." Her smile widened, "Excellent. Judging by the sound of excitement in the city, I'm guessing Phase Three went off without any mistakes?" the man chuckled, "Child's play." The man ended the call and she sat her phone back into place. She took a sip of her champagne and then gave a soft chuckle, so far this was the easiest biological attack she had ever caused.

Alex and Jill had traffic, but it wasn't just slow, the traffic had come to a complete stop. If there really was an attack at Los Angeles' Union Station then there was no time to waste. Both women had come to this conclusion, and both women had exited the vehicle and were now running down the freeway in a full sprint as cars around them honked in frustration. Up ahead they could see the police had set up a blockade, the 101 Freeway was completely empty beyond that point, possibly a first. Overhead a helicopter swooped down close enough for Jill's hair to be uncomfortable, a spot light followed them for a moment before focusing elsewhere just beyond. Two more helicopters soon came over them, all converging on one location.  
Alex and Jill jumped the medium into the oncoming lane, which was empty, and went up the off ramp, it was there they could see what looked like a festival of people, flashing red and blue in every direction. Search lights shinning on the small clock tower at the Union Station, spotlights all over the building and the windows. Outside on the streets, in the parking lot, and even on a small park nearby, squad cars, SWAT trucks, and even a S.T.A.R.S. vehicle had taken residence. The place was swarming with men shouting orders, all of them clamoring about each other. Alex and Jill headed for the Union Station building, near the entrance was a small tent, where Alex had spotted the mayor, the chief of police, as well as a batch of her superior officers, including the one that had asked for her and Jill Valentine. Both women pushed their way through, Alex calling out to her CO, "McKenna!" His attention shot over to her and he ordered men to let her through as he tried meeting we half way, "About time detective!" He barked, "LA traffic Sir, you know how bad it gets when someone launches a biological attack." It was a bad joke, especially at a time like this. A bad joke, one that actually got a brief chuckle from Jill, McKenna brushed off the joke and focused on Jill, "Miss Valentine, we've already called in for more assistance from the BSAA, as well as the CDC, we have officers here from all over trying to keep this situation contained to the station itself-we obviously don't want this getting out!" McKenna had to raise his voice, another helicopter had joined the birds already in flight over the station, it shined a light behind the building, a section Jill could not see from her angle, "What happened!?" she asked, screaming over another swooping helicopter, "A little over ten minutes ago there was an attack here, a security guard that made it out said people started fighting each other near the Amtrack platform, gate seven. It didn't take them long to realize the attacks were not just people fighting, they were eating one another. Security quickly scrambled and got people from the main hall out of the building, yet people coming and going from the transit hall were being attacked, the security sealed the doors from all ends and got in contact with us. Some of our boys blocked off a few other exits, since then as more men have arrived we've been able to fortify these blockades. The people in there, the ones that did not make it out in time...and the train that had just arrived..." McKenna's voice went quiet, he did not need to finish his sentence, Jill knew where he was going. Anyone who wasn't quick enough, even those who were in different areas, and oblivious to the outbreak...odds were they were dead. If not dead, then possibly infected.  
Jill looked beyond the line of SWAT officers ahead and noticed the front doors of the Union Station, they were rattling, she knew the infected were just on the other side. Different parts of the building were walled off by large boards, and makeshift steel plates. Items that would hold, but not forever. Jill knew of that first hand. She had seen broken blockades, shattered walls and windows, all hopes of keeping out the hungry dead-gone. Anger filled her, anger at the arrogance of those she had tried to warn, anger at those who refused to listen to her story, anger at those who created the virus. Anger at Umbrella. It was here in Los Angeles, the Tyrant Virus had apparently been introduced into someone. This must have been done in retaliation for the BSAA's involvement in the attempted capture of Esquivel. Jill could see no other reason for there to be an attack, it had to have been meant as a message. She would make Esquivel pay for this, no way in Hell was she going to stand idly by and let another Raccoon City Incident happen again. She would not allow herself, or anyone, go go through that...not again.  
"The building has to be destroyed. We have to eradicate the virus, set explosives or-" McKenna suddenly interjected, "We've gone over that with the major, he's not having it, he refuses to destroy this building. It's essential to Los Angeles and the community, we can't have-" Jill protested "There won't be a goddamn community if that virus gets out, if even one of those Things make it out of that building! To save a building you're risking the lives of everyone in Los Angeles and surrounding counties! The BSAA has never had to contain a county like this before! No army has! We can't risk preserving the building while those things are moving around in there!"  
"Agent Valentine!" McKenna tried voicing an opinion, but Jill did not back down, "I've seen too many lives destroyed by that virus! Too many people have died because of Umbrella! You can't let this building stand while the infected swarm within that place!"  
"Agent Valentine!" McKenna shouted at the top of his lungs, Alex had never heard him so loud, it caused her to flinch, even the other men around them had given McKenna their attention. Jill Valentine was unwavering, though it got her to stop talking, she was obviously still looking for an argument. McKenna gave a brief look around and leaned closer to both women, "I know where you're coming from, believe me, but this isn't my decision."  
Alex looked over at Jill, who now seemed to relax, but only a bit, "I realize your mission as a member of the BSAA, and I know you want nothing more than to wipe out those things from the face of this Earth. The mayor is sending in a group of S.T.A.R.S. members via Civic Center, that's the subway station nearest here. That group will go into the tunnels and take down any of the carriers in the tunnels. At the same time we have other groups of officers and SWAT, all of them will converge on the Union Station from all tracks leading in and out of the area. My group of S.T.A.R.S. at the Civic Center, they'll be the first group to head inward from the tunnels, here. I would like you to lead them."  
Jill's world had come to a halt, even McKenna could see that his request had thrown her off entirely. Alex looked on, eager to listen to Jill's response. "You've been through this before, my team could use your expertise. You'd be invaluable to us." said McKenna, Jill was very hesitant. To be a member of S.T.A.R.S. again; to be a part of the team that helped shape her, to once again be a part of the team that had first encountered the B.O.W.s, that had been betrayed by their captain, to be a part of the team that had been wiped out. All of her friends who had died in July of '98, all of those who died in Raccoon City. She owed it to them, but mostly to her old team. Even if she was not officially part of this particular S.T.A.R.S. unit, she would make damn sure that no member of this unit would die because of Umbrella.  
"I'm in." said Jill, a grin appearing on her face.  
"Excellent!" McKenna gave her a pat on the back and waved over a patrolman, "Officer Davila drive both of you to the Civic Center, at which point Agent Valentine will meet with Captain Luis. Detective Trevor, Davila will drive you up to check on Agent Chris Redfield. If he's fit, and all he's got is a scratch, then we need him here as well. His experience is matched only by Valentine, he can be useful to us."  
"Even if he doesn't look in shape, just let him know the situation, I promise you he'll leap over here." said Jill, offering advise on her partner. With all said and done, both women were taken to the squad car and were presently on their way to the Civic Center, the roads leading away from the Union Station were empty, and the roads nearest, with vehicles heading toward, were empty. Doors opened, lights on, citizens were evacuated either voluntarily or forcefully. It was for their own good. Anyone who was not armed had potential to become infected easily, and then infect others just as quickly. And with Jill's brain on the subject of infection, she thought back to the moment of infection at Union Station. Something did not quite add up: the speed of the infection was almost impossible. The T-Virus, the virus he had encountered before, it had taken some time to reanimate a corpse. Why had this seemed so fast?  
"Thank you Agent Valentine, for helping us like this. I can't imagine what this is like for you, being a part of S.T.A.R.S. again." said Alex Trevor from the passenger seat, Jill remained quiet, she was not about to get into her feelings, not with someone she had only just met. Even if this girl looked up to her, it was not in Jill's reputation to be an open book.  
Back to the question in her mind though, how had the virus infected people so quickly? Was it something new? Had the virus been altered to spread in someone's system faster, turn an organism into a B.O.W. at an exponential rate, turn them into a mindless drone quicker? In Raccoon City, she had been infected with a variant of the T-Virus, her pursuer, a Tyrant B.O.W., had infected her with one of its attacks. She had been infected the night of September 28th, and she had lost consciousness. Drifting in and out for almost three days. She was infected for days, and though she was able to feel the humanity slipping away, she had not turned into one of the undead. She was lucky she had someone there for her...yet where was he now? This was not the time to think about old friends, back to the virus. Jill was infected for days, only then, on October 1st was she given a vaccine and saved. Years went by, and she had even undergone experimentation from her former enemy. Jill's body had created anti-bodies for the T-Virus, she was the cure to the thing that had caused so much misery in the world. Yet, it was her which helped Him create a new virus, something stronger, something that almost destroyed the world. Would her anti-bodies fight the virus which had infected the people at Union Station?  
The squad car pulled up to a scene similar to the one at Union Station, an armored S.T.A.R.S. vehicle was parked just in front of stairs leading down into what Jill assumed was the subway platforms. Several other squad cars, two S.T.A.R.S. vehicles and four police squad cars blocked off the area. "This is you Agent Valentine." said Officer Davila, Jill unbuckled herself and stepped out, then paused and moved back to the car, leaning over to Alex, "When you see Chris, and when you tell him where I am, he's going to want to come after me. You can't let him follow me, understand?" Alex nodded at Jill's request, "If he insists, tell him to remember our mission, tell him to remember what our job at the BSAA is." with that, Jill turned away and began to make her way to the S.T.A.R.S. vehicle, and the two men in full uniform waiting for her, "Jill!" shouted Alexandria from her vehicle, turn turned on the spot. There was a moment, a singular moment which Jill could see Alex trying to think of something to say, "Take care." said Alex, Jill gave a nod, smiled, and turned back to her mission. No stopping now, this was war.

* * *

_I want to apologize for how long it took to get this chapter up; the release of Resident Evil 6 has taken up quite a __portion of my time. Juggling that, with work and school gave me very little time. None the less the chapter is finally up and I plan to have the 4th chapter up soon. With RE6 out now, I will assure the readers that the story in that game has not altered this particular story, or the direction I wanted to take it. If anything, RE6 enhances what I had already planned and as it turns out, offers a unique opportunity that I had hoped for. __If you have any questions, comments, qualms, feel free to leave a comment or send me a PM. I'm not a douche, and I only bite upon request._


End file.
